#4
Honey, when she had the chance, steered Milo to the last place to the South. It was her preferred pick of all the town houses and outlying farms. Once again it was a beautiful old two story house with a wrap around porch, dormer windows on the second floor, and huge rooms with windows to let in the sunshine.
Milo approved of the barns, sheds, hay storage and large shop. There were gardens, everything a young family would need to put down deep roots and grow. Honey was practically skipping through the house, counting rooms, imagining Sunday dinners in the oversize dining room, looking with awe at the kitchen with all it's storage and counter space.
Best of all, Honey could tell by the timber of excitement in Milo's voice, that he liked the place and was willing to 'captain his own ship' so to speak. Honey didn't have to say a word about Milo being his own man of the house, and perhaps they were far enough away from Mark, so the 'Dad' wouldn't automatically turn to Milo for every little thing.
To Honey's delight, Toby and Rennie seemed charmed by the farm house and ground between them and Mark, and she smiled in happiness. Yes. This was indeed, a good place.
Toby and Rennie walked the grounds around the house and buildings, hand in hand. They were smiling in contentment, feeling more mellow and hopeful for the future, than they had for many, many years.
The kids were running full speed around their parents, in and out of the buildings, the house, the barn. Excited to claim their own personal bedrooms, shouts echoed in the furnished but abandoned house.
It was Lyric that discovered that the Mama cat and three kittens lived in the woodshed next to the house. Out of her apron pocket came two mostly crumbled biscuits leftover from breakfast.
It was just the right item to lure in the cat and kittens close enough for Lyric to get a fast stroke on the Mama cat. The kittens were wilder, but eager to check out what Mama was eating.
Toby and Rennie smiled indulgently at their sweet daughter as she coaxed the kittens close. Lyric was totally absorbed in playing, and to Rennie, it brought tears to her eyes. Never before had the child had the freedom to sit in the shade and just play.
Rennie stopped to watch Lyric, and it filled her heart with joy to see her children carefree for the time being. Placing her hand over Toby's arm, they strolled slowly toward the back door of the house.
The house, kitchen, in fact all the rooms in the house, suited Rennie just fine. There was room in the place, for all the basics. That's what mattered to her, and Toby seemed content with what he was seeing.
"Did you see, the back door of a fine office building straight ahead. A good place for a couple of lawyers to set up shop and raise a family, and do a little farming on the side." Toby was standing in the open front door, looking toward the town buildings.
"I hadn't noticed, but that sounds like a good start. Do you happen to know any lawyers that might be interested?" she teased.
"I just might, a excellent lawyer and his beautiful wife with a wide experience reading the law. I have it on good authority, they both are interested." Toby looked around and gave a deep sigh.
"It feels like we were made for this place and it, for us. What say you Rennie, do you like it here?"
"Yes," of that Rennie was positive. With Mark and Clora to the North of them; and Milo and Honey to the South, there were people close but not smotheringly close. The enforced closeness of the North Carolina place and then the wagon trek, had Rennie longing to be mistress of her own house.
"If we build up a business, I will need help keeping house and minding the children. I'm not a 'super mother,' I can't do it all, not like your mother can. I mean, I am in awe of her abilities." Rennie was frank.
"Hey, I'm all for a couple to help us. The lady to cook, wash and childcare. The gent to cut wood, farm and handyman. Sounds like a winner of an idea to me. I need your brilliant mind and most capable estimations of human personalities. Do you want Linderman and Linderman on the office door?"
"I sure do."
"Then it's settled." Toby and Rennie shared a kiss and were interrupted by two noisy boys, thundering in the house. "Dad, Dad, we found a thing, but we don't know what it is. Will ya come look, please, please?"
The thing stood in solitary majesty in the back yard. Long and green, it was tilted on one end and a complete puzzlement to two young boys who had never seen a teeter totter before.
Once properly introduced, the boys were shouting and yelling, pushing strongly with their legs and having more fun than should have been allowed by law.
"Shall we consider this place ours?" Toby asked as he watched Lyric come try out a child's swing in the deep shade of the tree by the back door.
"Most definitely yes," Rennie was positive.
